Gadling Take Five : Week of August 30-September 5

by Jamie Rhein on

This week, as the Olympics ended, we welcomed blogger David Breisch to the Gadling fold. This was a busy week of diverse travel options, breakthroughs and oddities.

  • Jerry tuned us into what travel to a volcanic island is like with two separate posts. The first post, of his two part series “The Krakatau Journal: An island paradise that can kill you,’ and the second post, offer Jerry’s personal account of his trip to this volcanic island in Indonesia. He also details other volcanoes one can hit on an adventure vacation.
  • If you’re thinking that Hooters in Beijing is like Hooters in the U.S., like the big Os in the word “hOOt,” think again. As Josh, pointed out, the waitress costumes and build are not the same, even though it sounds like the food is. Josh’s story caught my eye because there was a knock-off Hooters in the town where I lived in Taiwan–except the name was wrong. The sign said, “Hooties.”
  • We can chalk one up for consumer complaints. As Grant reported, United Airlines has decided to nix the idea of charging people for meals on international flights. Who would ever have thought charging was a good idea is beyond me.
  • If you’re looking to bed down for the night in an unusual place, Scott has the answer. In his post “Spend the night in a Jumbo jet without leaving the ground,” he gives the scoop on the Jumbo Jet hostel that will open at the airport in Stockholm. As Scott says, you need to be a mile off the ground a mile to join the Mile High Club. Having adult fun in a jumbo jet on the ground is not the same thing.
  • For entertainment that is not particularly expensive, Meg’s post on the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Virginia presents an idea that might be perfect for a fall weekend. The ticket price of the plays are reasonable and the Blue Ridge Mountains, where the theater is located, are stunning when the leaves change color.

Have a wonderful weekend. I hope there’s a festival near you. I hit the Popcorn Festival in Marion, Ohio today and am heading to the Honey Festival in Lithopolis tomorrow. Last week was the Sweet Corn Festival in Millersport.

Spend the night in a Jumbo without leaving the ground

by Scott Carmichael on

In December, Stockholm airport will be home to the first Boeing 747 hostel in the world. This 747-200 was built in 1976 and is currently being converted into a 25 room hostel with 3 beds per room.

Each room features a flat panel TV, wireless Internet access and a shared shower/toilet facility. The upper deck of this 747 has several more luxurious rooms with their own bathroom facility. For the ultimate in overnight luxury, you will even be able to spend the night in the cockpit, where you can enjoy a fantastic view of the air traffic at Stockholm’s Arlanda airport.

In addition to the 747 conversion, the developers are also building a restaurant and excursion area where visitors will be able to walk on the wing of the Jumbo. With the possible exception of working for the airline, or leaving the plane in an emergency, this will be the only time you’ll ever be able to do that!

And don’t forget – you don’t become a member of the mile high club unless you are at least one mile off the ground!

I’ve never been a big fan of hostels, but I’d most certainly make an exception for this one. The Jumbo Hostel will open its doors for reservations in December, in the meantime, why not enjoy some of the photos on their site.

Weekend tip: Stockholm goes all out for 08.08.08

by Anna Brones on

Tomorrow (08.08.08) not only marks the start of the 2008 Olympic Games, but it’s also the day for Stockholm’s Go08 festival. Why does the 08.08.08 date carry significance for Stockholmites? It’s their telephone area code; in Swedish they’re often referred to as “08ers.” So because Friday’s calendar date was special the City of Stockholm decided to throw a party, and it’s going to be full of music, food and dancing into the late hours.

Along with various musical acts playing in two of the cities main squares — Kungsträdgården and Medborgarplatsen — Stockholm’s Old Town will be the battleground of a “water war.” The water war isn’t part of the city’s official festivities, but if you’re in the area and planning on doing some sightseeing you just might want to bring your water gun for the showdown.

Don’t expect to pay too much for Go08; all activities are somewhere between free and 8 SEK (about $1.30). And what city-wide party wouldn’t be complete without fireworks? There will be a whole 8 minutes and 8 seconds of them in the evening to look forward to. Seems like there isn’t a better day to be in the Swedish capital.

A portrait of global proportions

by Anna Brones on

Drawing to scale can be hard enough, I can’t even imagine attempting to draw on the whole globe. But that’s exactly what artist Erik Nordenankar did. On March 17, 2008 Nordenankar sent a briefcase containing a GPS tracking device with the global shipping company DHL. He gave the company exact instructions on where to go and in what order, and 55 days later the briefcase came back to its departure point, Stockholm. Using the information from the GPS, Nordenankar created the above image. The continuous line of the drawing is exactly 110,664 kilometers long. Now that’s one big portrait.

Update: Yes, this is a hoax. ‘Biggest drawing in world’ revealed as hoax — thanks to everyone who sent this in. –Ed.

Rat causes a 3-hour power outage in Stockholm

by Iva Skoch on

The year of the Rat has been going well so far. Rats have been getting more attention than ever. At least on Gadling. At least by me.

It warmed my heart to see that yet another rat got into the spotlight lately. On Saturday morning, a giant rat had apparently sneaked into a signal box in the Sheraton Hotel in Stockholm, Sweden and caused it to short-circuit. The rat was electrocuted and Stockholm’s central train station, as well as nearby hotels and shops, lost power for three hours.

I am sure Sheraton is thrilled about the rat publicity.

Photo: limonada, Flickr